Warmth
by Maeve of Winter
Summary: Johnny is hurt after being captured during a mission. Ben takes care of him. Ben/Johnny.


The safehouse in the distance was a sight for sore eyes, and Ben heaved a sigh of relief when he finally spotted it. He'd been worried the tracking coordinates were wrong; sometimes distances shifted across dimensions, rendering the readings inaccurate.

"We're not far off, Matchstick," he reassured Johnny as soon as he was sure he had found the safehouse. "Once we get there, I'll send out a signal to Susie and Reed, and we'll be out of this mess before you know it."

"Terrific," Johnny rasped, his faint words nearly stolen away by the howling winter wind. While he hadn't sustain any serious physical injuries, his captivity by the Skrulls had left him severely weakened to the point he was unable to use his flames. Now, the frigid winter weather was taking its toll on him. He'd been extremely taxed by the combination, so much so that Ben had insisted upon carrying him during their trek.

Looking at Johnny's pale and drawn features, Ben was spurred to move even faster, and he increased his pace accordingly. He wanted to get Johnny out of the cold as quickly as possible.

The trek was arduous, pushing against blasts of intense winds that were difficult for even him to withstand. The entire time he worried for Johnny, who was already ill and would only be made worse by the freezing conditions. But they made it to the house just in time, reaching the door just as thick snowflakes began driving down from the overcast sky.

"All right," Ben reassured him as the retinal scan finished and the door retracted to let them inside. "We're safe for now, kid. We're good, so you can just relax, okay?"

"Great," Johnny rasped.

The safehouse wasn't much for creature comforts; the team had established various similar ones around the globe, throughout numerous planets, and even within other dimensions, in case of the need for a temporary hideout. As such, most of the amenities were fairly basic, with an open floor plan kitchen and living area, as well as several living quarters on the lower level. But there was also a workshop and medical bay, and the various supplies present were more than plentiful.

Much to Ben's satisfaction, the shelter seemed to restore Johnny slightly, and he stirred somewhat as they proceeded inside. Using the utmost care, Ben settled him on the couch in the living room and then left to retrieve a thick blanket from the medical bay and send a hail to the rest of the team. When he returned seconds later, Johnny was attempting to sit up, pushing on the couch cushions with shaking arms to lift himself.

"That's enough of that," Ben scolded, even as he wrapped Johnny tightly in the blanket. "Lie down and rest, Johnny. You've just been through hell. You're allowed to take a few minutes for yourself."

"Thought I should signal Reed and Sue," Johnny protested weakly.

"I just did that," Ben told his boyfriend. "You don't hafta worry 'bout a thing. I'll give you everything you need."

Even in his fatigued state, Johnny managed to aim a trace of a smirk Ben's way. "Yeah? You gonna wear a sexy nurse outfit for me?"

"Har, har, wise guy," Ben retorted, but reached out to gently squeeze his hand all the same. "Listen, you hungry? I could make you somethin'."

"Not really," Johnny replied, sinking back down onto the couch. "I'm fine, Ben, seriously. You can stop worrying."

"I'll decide when to worry about you or not," Ben said firmly. "You need to at least drink some water, but you should definitely eat, too. I'm just gonna make you some broth. It'll be easy to handle, and it'll do you good."

"You don't have to—" Johnny began, but Ben was already on his way to the kitchen.

He set a pot of broth of the stovetop to heat and filled a glass with water, making sure the temperature was lukewarm so that it wouldn't give Johnny chills.

"Here," he said, carrying the water over to Johnny. He sat down with him and helped him sip slowly from the glass. When the broth was prepared, he did the same thing.

"Thanks, Ben," Johnny said when he was finished, clearly tired but content. "I didn't know how much I needed that."

"No problem." Ben took the dishes to the sink and checked the comm signal. "Hey, we got word from Reed and Susie. They'll be extractin' us in about an hour."

"Seems like all I've done lately is get bailed out by you guys," Johnny remarked, closing his eyes.

Ben snorted. "Yeah, well, hopefully you can look past the lack of a white horse on my part." His nonchalance faded to concern as he returned to Johnny and studied his features, which were still pale. "You sure you're all right? Is anything you need?"

"Ben, you've got to relax. I'm going to be okay. I just need a few minutes," Johnny said, his tone half-amused, half-exasperated.

"I know," Ben admitted, resettling on the couch and reaching to start gently stroking Johnny's golden hair. "I just want to you to be well. I never shoulda let those Skrulls get to you in the first place."

"Not your fault," Johnny informed him. "It's one of the hazards of our job. And besides, you rescued me in no time flat, so that's a whole bunch of points in your favor, as far as I'm concerned." But the end of his statement was punctuated with a shiver.

"You're still cold," Ben fretted. He went to rise again. "I'm going to see if there are any hot water bottles—"

" No. " Johnny grabbed his arm with surprising strength for someone in his weakened condition. "I don't want anything else, and you don't have to do anything more. Just sit with me, will you? That's what I want."

Ben sat back down on the couch, both soothed and somewhat flattered by his boyfriend's response. "All right, all right. I do wish there was a fireplace so I could light a fire for you, though."

"Ben, you always light my fire," Johnny teased. He hauled himself up again, batting Ben's hands away as he rushed to push him back down to rest, and pulled himself into Ben's lap. "But if you want to keep me warm, for now, this is how you've gotta do it."

Ben let out a huff of laughter. "Can't argue with that, can I? Go to sleep, Matchstick. I'm here to take of you."

Johnny smiled. "Yeah. You do great a job of that."

Curling up against Ben's chest and resting his head on his shoulder, Johnny closed his eyes as Ben held him close. Within a few minutes, he was in a deep sleep.

A quiet smile on his face, Ben pressed a gentle kiss to Johnny's temple, grateful that his boyfriend was not only on the road to recovery, but also content to be with him and could sleep safely in his arms.


End file.
